Israel strikes Beirut after rejecting ceasefire
Published: 06:10 AM,Oct 16,2024 | EDITED : 10:10 AM,Oct 16,2024
A girl looks on as she sits in the courtyard of the Azariyeh building complex in central Beirut,
Beirut - The Israeli military launched strikes in southern Beirut on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, saying it would leave Hezbollah forces near his country's border.
An AFP journalist saw black smoke rising from Beirut's Haret Hreik area after two strikes, which followed an Israeli military warning for residents to evacuate.
One of the strikes targeted weapons 'stockpiled by Hezbollah in an underground storage facility', the military said.
Netanyahu's refusal to halt the offensive came as the United States ramped up pressure on Israel, criticizing the bombing of Beirut and urging more aid access for Gazans.
In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu said he was 'opposed to a unilateral ceasefire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was', according to his office.
'Netanyahu clarified that Israel would not agree to any arrangement that does not provide a buffer zone and which does not stop Hezbollah from regrouping,' the statement said.
Hezbollah's deputy leader, Naim Qassem, said the only solution was a ceasefire while threatening to expand its missile strikes across Israel.
'Since the Israeli enemy targeted all of Lebanon, we have the right from a defensive position to target any place' in Israel, he said.
Early Wednesday Israel's military said about 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon at the country's north, without any reports of casualties. Iran-backed Hezbollah said it launched several salvos of rockets on northern Israel and army positions.
An AFP journalist saw black smoke rising from Beirut's Haret Hreik area after two strikes, which followed an Israeli military warning for residents to evacuate.
One of the strikes targeted weapons 'stockpiled by Hezbollah in an underground storage facility', the military said.
Netanyahu's refusal to halt the offensive came as the United States ramped up pressure on Israel, criticizing the bombing of Beirut and urging more aid access for Gazans.
In a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu said he was 'opposed to a unilateral ceasefire, which does not change the security situation in Lebanon, and which will only return it to the way it was', according to his office.
'Netanyahu clarified that Israel would not agree to any arrangement that does not provide a buffer zone and which does not stop Hezbollah from regrouping,' the statement said.
Hezbollah's deputy leader, Naim Qassem, said the only solution was a ceasefire while threatening to expand its missile strikes across Israel.
'Since the Israeli enemy targeted all of Lebanon, we have the right from a defensive position to target any place' in Israel, he said.
Early Wednesday Israel's military said about 50 projectiles were fired from Lebanon at the country's north, without any reports of casualties. Iran-backed Hezbollah said it launched several salvos of rockets on northern Israel and army positions.